Thursday February 13 — birthday (1891-1942) of “American Gothic” painter Grant Wood

American Gothic is the most parodied American painting. Worldwide it’s running neck and neck with the Mona Lisa.

The painting is a blank slate. To tell their own stories, people manipulate the couple, the clothes they are wearing, the tool in his right hand, and the house.

Keeping up with the times

Self portrait, 1932

Grant Wood was born on February 13, 1891 in Anamosa, Iowa. His mother moved the family to Cedar Rapids after his father died in 1901. Click here for a thorough biography of his education and artistic career in theartstory.org.

Photo ops in Eldon Iowa

The house is now owned by the State Historical Society of Iowa

What’s in the house? Proper attire for photo ops

What’s in the house? Pitchforks for photo ops

Photo op

COVID wears on

As COVID wears on, they’ve given up, gone indoors

February page in our 2022 calendar about quirky passions. To enlarge the image, click on it.

To view the calendar on Amazon and Stanfords, click here

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Albert Einstein
“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness”

~ Albert Einstein
Edward R. Murrow
“The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer”

~ Edward R. Murrow
Hoagy Carmichael
"Slow motion gets you there faster"

~ Hoagy Carmichael
Marilyn Thomsen
"While it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfilment in being ordinary"

~ Marilyn Thomsen
testi 1
“We’re giving a good name to a four-letter word — dull”
testi 2
“Glitz and glam — not worth the bother”
testi 3
“We don’t try to keep up with the Joneses — who are the Joneses anyway?”
testi 4
“Time is a great invention — it’s what keeps everything from happening all at once”
Will Rogers
“Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there”

~ Will Rogers